Your Local Home Advisor

No, they are are not going away - short sales, that is. I can remember when the term short sale was not generally known to the public. It was misunderstood. Some thought that it meant that the sale would be quick. They were sadly mistaken.

Short sales, although lenders, banks, and asset management companies have boosted their staffs, are still taking a long time. The first one that I was involved with took 9 months and more, and then the transaction didn't go through. Why? We had a buyer ready to buy. We had a seller desparate to sell. Well, the answer is it took so long the seller didn't want to deal with it anymore. They had already moved out and moved on. They wanted to let the bank have it by going to foreclosure.

Wachovia has it right. They have one person in OC and another in LA handling decisions on short sales. They can turn around a decision in a couple days, not a couple months or a longer. One of the transactions I am working on right now has had a bank decision since almost the beginning. It is the loan that is taking a long time. It would have been done a long time ago had it been an all-cash purchase.

Since the market is not getting any better and homes are still upside down with owners who can't afford payments, short sales will be with us for several more years. If you need short sales advice, please give me a call.